Friday, March 8, 2019

Jeremiah 17:5-8 -- On Trust and Drought

"Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.
For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit."
Jeremiah 17:5-8


When I was in college I really didn't like these kinds of verses, talking about not trusting in other people, I think because God can seem really far away at times, and the verses seemed kind of anti-friendship at a time when I was learning to appreciate friendship.  I think though, now, that part of the point of verses like these are that God *is* our friend, and that he doesn't have to seem so far away, if we would invest even a fraction of the time in talking to him as we do in talking to other people. :)

Now, of course friendship with God isn't exactly like friendship with fallible mortals, but the differences aren't bad, and can bring infinite good into our lives.  God is always going to be honest with us, which we might not always like... but he will also be patient and kind and care about us even when we can't stand ourselves.

Today, let's trust in God above all else, and invest in that relationship.  Let's work to lift and help others too, as God asks, but make sure that our trust in God supersedes our trust in fallible humans, including ourselves. :)  As we do, I like the idea of not having to be careful in the year of drought.  When we stick with God, even when things get hard, with literal or figurative droughts in our lives: of water, of friends, of peace... we'll be okay.

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